Our Temptation
by Shanaconda
Summary: One-Shot. Natsu x Lucy.


"How could he be so careless?"

Those words tore at her insides as they were spoken, that simple breath invoking both dread and concern. She shivered as the twilight wind bit her face and stained it with cold, each strand of amber hair swept behind as she walked against it. One foot in front of the other, she kept her balance on the canal edge, her pet Nikora following in the street beside her. He motioned to her in a sad, nervous manner to indicate that he didn't have an answer to her rhetorical question.

She couldn't understand the reason he had made her promise to keep quiet, and to make an excuse for his absence. All Natsu had mentioned was a black dragon, that it could be his foster father… and his intention to reach the mountains and meet with it no matter what the cost.

The truth of the matter was…the guild had been deprived of its problem child for months, but no one even bothered to ask or wonder. She made a face and narrowed her chocolate brown eyes in response to that sudden thought, her demeanor more irked than anything. It _was _Natsu that had her worried, but that didn't mean the rest of Fairy Tail should pretend to be oblivious!

Once her heels touched the cobblestone outside her apartment, she brushed aside all else and replaced it with calm indifference. She opened the door and allowed Plue to precede her, then closed it behind and smiled at the familiar surroundings. At least she didn't have to be cautious about stripping in her own home, which was a constant issue when Natsu dropped by without invitation.

She reveled in that one comforting fact as she went through her evening ritual and prepared herself for bed, the clip gone from her hair and placed on the night stand once her tired eyes had navigated through the dark bedroom. Warmth and peace of mind welcomed her under the sheets and soothed each nerve cell, all thoughts fading until sleep claimed her conscience completely…

---

A dream and then a nightmare brought her into a subliminal state, the chill in the atmosphere leaving her cold and uncomfortable. She rolled over and let out a breath as her hands met a solid form, then embraced it and enveloped herself in its heat with contentment…which didn't last more than a minute once it began to move. Chocolate eyes popped open wide as she scrambled out of bed with a shriek, one hand over her mouth as she stared down the obscured intruder.

"...Natsu?"

The absolute shock shone clear through her voice as a head of pink hair entered her line of vision, its owner battered and damaged as he squinted through the sudden light. There was no mistaking the deep scratches that marred his body, or the visible bruise that decorated his hairline. Natsu mumbled something incomprehensible as he sat upright, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere as he met her eyes with a weak sense of irritance.

"What the hell are you doing? Get out!"

She demanded with both hands on her hips, her expression fierce while the spark in her eyes betrayed concern. Seriously, he dissapeared for months and came back injured, then decided to scare her to death in the middle of the night? What did she have to do to get some warning for once? He responded with a word that sounded like 'sleeping' and collapsed under the covers again and became silent.

She thinned her lips and approached the bed, then attempted to remove him with every method known to her. Natsu protested with his face pressed into the pillow, one hand swatting the air to push her away. She let out a shrill gasp and smacked his arm hard the moment his fingers accidentally collided with one of her breasts. He whined in pain and moaned as he turned over onto his back, then opened his eyes wide as she covered his mouth to drown out the sound.

"Shh! You already woke me up as it is. People are gonna think I'm weird with you making those noises,"

She hissed in a hushed tone with her hand still in place, heat rising to her cheeks as she leaned over and shut the open window – practically straddling him in order to reach it. Well, that solved one issue, as far as how Natsu got in and why she'd woken up cold. But that was beside the point. A shiver ran up her spine as his lips moved beneath her palm to form words that were barely understandable.

"Alright, I'll let you sleep here. But it's a one time deal, got it?"

She said through a sigh of resignation as the battle was lost. He was in a horrible condition and it would send her on a guilt trip to kick him out so late at night. Besides, all he wanted was to sleep, so it wasn't like he'd be up watching her and thinking perverted thoughts. What was the worst that could happen? He nodded and relaxed, but caught her wrist to keep her hand in place, an impish smile just visible beneath it.

"Mmmm…"

Natsu's deep, convincing moan caught her off guard and made her contradict herself completely. This wasn't pain anymore. That look in his eyes was definitely something else. Her cheeks blazed as she felt his hot breath tickle her skin. His teeth. She could feel his teeth nip and clamp down without intention of hurting her, his lips sucking in a lazy rhythm. She thought she heard herself… no, that must have been her imagination.

"You smell nice,"

Natsu connoted with his mouth a breath from her palm, onyx eyes travelling up to meet hers in a silent question. There was something about his broken voice and strained, playful expression that made her pulse stutter and quicken. Jeez, the fact that he was waiting for permission to continue or the signal to stop didn't make it easier. And if she smelled good, why wasn't he rubbing his nose all over her instead of his mouth, anyway?

She remained speechless as Natsu read the look on her face and widened his smile. He kissed each sensitive inside between her fingers, then hovered his lips on one, parted them and grazed it carelessly. There was a pause as he let out a content sigh, then proceeded to lick the center of her palm and made slow motions around it. Without warning, he slid his lips over her ring finger and took the whole thing in his mouth.

"Okay, you can stop now,"

She snapped in a sudden, formidable tone as the situation sank in with a squeal. How did this even happen? This was so uncalled for, not to mention awkward. When Natsu didn't respond, she shook her hand frantically and tried to free it from his mouth… but he was reluctant to do so. With one last tease of tongue and lips, he released her with a triumphant smile.

"Heh. You're kinda predictable, you know that?"

Natsu snickered with some hidden depth in his voice, which either meant that the entire scenario had been planned… or it really _was _on impulse, but he'd anticipated her reaction. He was such an idiot at times, but to put so much thought into something like this could mean anything. But really, to think she actually assumed that he'd behave, then sat back and watched him prove her wrong.

"Yeah, and you're still a mystery. Now go to sleep, okay?"

She moved from her position and slid under the covers in a sheepish manner, although on the inside she wasn't all that disturbed by that intimate moment she'd shared with him. Whether it was a dumb stunt to see how far her tolerance would go, or an actual sign of affection, it didn't matter. Maybe that was the reason she'd been more concerned than everyone else, but didn't realize it until now. She turned off the light and closed her eyes, then shivered in response to the lingering chill.

A smile quirked onto her lips as Natsu wrapped an arm around her and shielded her from the cold. She didn't reject him, but didn't invite him closer either. No matter what her conscience said was the truth, she knew personally that there wasn't a thought in the world that could cause her concern. Not when she had him beside her to keep it all away.


End file.
